A Matter of Chance
by RitchieRitch
Summary: Hermione was shattered. Her world was shattered. Her relationships were shattered. Everything she had; shattered. Can anybody help pick up the pieces?
1. In which there is an unexpected visitor

**Hey! So this is my first fanfic ever so it might suck but I tried! It also may have a lot of grammar/spelling mistakes... im tired haha. Other than that, it's pretty good! (but i have kind of a biased oppinion, huh?)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :D (Good or bad reviews... I can take it!) **

**I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters... just the plot.**

A Matter of Chance

_The pain was bearable at first, starting out as no more than the occasional slap, but it slowly started escalating until it was all I could do to not cry out. I deserved it though, I was worthless… weak… replaceable… I was lucky that anyone loved me._

Despite Hermione's disposition in knowledge over fate, she still found herself being a strong believer in karma. That's why she knew that she had done something wrong the moment she opened the door this morning. The day had started out as any other, she had woken up at the crack of nine and had taken her time getting up. The morning sun had been shining through her window blinds and had cast an intricate checkerboard pattern across Hermione's bed, telling her it was time to start the day. Once she finally did, she felt great; it was a beautiful day outside. As cliché as it sounds; the sun was out, the birds were singing, and everything seemed absolutely perfect. That is until she made her way into the bathroom. In her bliss, she had forgotten about her handicap. Her dirty little secret. She glanced at herself in the mirror and instantly her perfect day was shattered…but she was used to it, this was how Hermione started every day. She grabbed her cover-up as usual, painted over the purple splocthes that covered her face as usual, and broke a little inside… as usual. This had become her daily ritual.

Her day had done a complete 180, though, the moment the doorbell had rung. Hermione made her way to the door and opened it, where she came face to face with a tall, skinny, beautiful man with hair that was so blonde it was almost white.

"D-Draco?" she asked, visually frazzled by the unexpected visitor. _God, he's beautiful _Hermione thought. He had changed since their days at Hogwarts, his hair was looser now, hitting right below his eyebrows, and his features had become somewhat softer. On top of all that, he had an air of maturity surrounding him. _However, _Hermione thought sourly, _he's still Malfoy. _

The man cocked an eyebrow at her, amused at the frizzy haired women's reaction, "Hello, Granger," he smirked, "nice to see you too."

"It's Hermione," she corrected, regaining her confidence, "and what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, I prefer Granger, and for your information, I just moved into the apartment next door." She eyed him warily. _Ugh, why me?_, she wondered,_ I honestly can't handle this right now._ "I know what your thinking, Granger, and don't flatter yourself. I didn't choose to live here. It's… an assigned living arrangement." Draco said almost uncomfortably, "My family is in a bit of trouble."

"Trouble?" Hermione smirked, "What kind of trouble?"

"Well, I don't see how that is any of your business, Granger," the blonde snapped, tugging anxiously at his sleeve, "but I was just stopping by to warn you of the new living arrangement."

"Well that's very kind of you," Hermione sneered, "but I'd prefer that you'd leave now. Ron should be home soon, and I'd rather not have a dead body on my hands."

"Don't worry, I wont kill him," he laughed coldly, "Speaking of the Weasel, where is he?"

"At work," Hermione answered a little too quickly. In fact, Hermione had no idea where Ron was. She hadn't seen him since he had gone out drinking last night.

"Mmm Hmm," Draco smirked, obviously not believing Hermione's answer. _God, he was full of himself,_ she thought, but right as she was about to respond, she heard a loud POP, indicating that her boyfriend was home.

"Shit," Hermione muttered under her breath. "Leave," she hissed, "now!"

"I… what..?" Draco questioned, his bleached-blond eyebrows knitting together.

"Just GO!"

"Honey?" an angry voice said from behind the brunette. Hermione spun around to face her fire-haired boyfriend. "What is HE doing here?"

"He, um, was just saying hi," Hermione stuttered nervously, "he- he just moved into the apartment next door."

"Oh, well isn't that… interesting," Ron said, his face turning red with anger and his eyes narrowing into slits.

"I was just leaving," Draco said coldly after a long, awkward silence.

"That would probably be for the best," the ginger responded. He grabbed Hermione by the arm, and Draco couldn't help but notice her wincing at the vice-like grip her boyfriend had on her. She looked almost scared, but before he could say anything, Ron had slammed the door in his face. There was nothing he could do now but go home and pretend not to hear the angry shouts coming from the apartment next door.

**So.. there's the first chapter! I hope you liked it! :) XOXO Ritch**


	2. In which Hermione sees stars

**Hello, my dears! So this chapter is ridiculously short, but necessary! The next chapters will definitely be longer :D**

**I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters….. although I certainly wish I owned Draco ;)**

Hermione had woken up to a cold morning breeze and a throbbing headache. Her body was sprawled across the concrete ground that lied beneath her, causing her to look like an overused and underappreciated rag doll. Hermione attempted to sit up, but as soon as she did, her world was spinning. She felt as if she were falling, but she liked the feeling. She liked the freedom… the empowerment… the strength it gave her, but soon Hermione fell directly into a strong, welcoming pair of arms.

"Hermione," a soothing voice said, "what are you doing down there, Honey?" She gazed up at the freckled face hovering above her, and suddenly, she remembered everything; the fight that had ensued the moment Draco Malfoy had left their apartment, the harsh words thrown, and the fists thrown, too. She remembered Ron throwing-no, _pushing- _Hermione out of their apartment, causing her to hit her head on the hard, unforgiving concrete. She remembered everything, even if Ron pretended he didn't.

"Phee ju le may a-own," Hermione mumbled, having trouble connecting her thoughts and her words thanks to the blinding pain in her forehead.

Ron laughed, "Honey, I think the cold has gotten to you! You sound insane!"

"Please just leave me alone," Hermione tried again.

"Excuse me? Now I'm sure you don't mean that," the ginger insisted, "stop with the crazy talk!"

"Please," Hermione whispered, "Please ju-just go,"

Ron's whole demeanor snapped in a millisecond, "You BITCH! How dare you talk to me like that?" He raised his arm, his hand curling into a fist, and swung it down into her face with all of his strength. Hermione immediately saw stars, then a white light, and then nothing at all.

**There it is! Chapter two! PLEASE REVIEW! It keeps me going!**

**XOXO RitchieRitch**


	3. In which Draco lends a helping hand

**Hello again, my loves! So this chapter was kind of hard to write for some reason but I hope you like it. :)**

**Also, I'm in a really write-y mood, so I'm updating really quickly. Unfortunately, not all of the chapters will be put up this quick, sorry! :( **

**I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

Ron hadn't always been abusive. In fact, in the beginning of their relationship he was loving and kind, but about a year later, around the anniversary of Fred's death, something in him snapped. It started with insults. Cutting words that killed Hermione inside, but her relationship with Ron was the only constant in her life, she couldn't risk losing him. After a while, Hermione had started to believe that the cruel insults were true. Then the hitting began.

Normally the violence was bearable, but lately Ron had been drinking. The bruises that covered Hermione's porcelain skin had become harder to hide from her friends and she constantly had to lie to Harry and Ginny about how she acquired the purple marks. She didn't want people to know what she was going through and, as crazy as it sounds, she didn't want to get Ron into trouble.

The violence had escalated so much that Hermione often woke up with a headache and no memory of where she was or how she got there. This morning she had woken up in a room much like the one she normally slept in, but it was sleeker, classier, and somehow _comfier _than her room at home. It was painted a pale green and was complemented with beautiful crème accents, even the comforter she was laying on looked designer, _Is that SILK? _Hermione wondered.

After taking in her surroundings, she decided she should probably find out where she was. She began to sit up but, considering the state she was in, fell right back down. Her head was spinning and the quick movement made her forehead shoot with pain. Hermione let out a loud shriek, probably alerting the owner of this beautiful room to her presence. _Maybe nobody's home _she hoped, but no such luck. She could hear heavy footsteps making their way to the bedroom.

"Granger?" she heard a worried voice call, "are you okay?" _Isn't that peculiar,_ Hermione thought, _the owner knows my name!_ "Granger, look at me,"

Hermione looked up to see a beautiful pair of gray eyes, _uh oh._ "Draco?" she sputtered, "I-what are you doing here?" _Oh God, please don't let this be his apartment._

"I live here," he responded, _Damn it, _"are you… feeling better?"

"I'm fine," Hermione spat, "Now how the hell did I get here?"

"I carried you in," the blonde said carefully. _How DARE he? _she thought, suddenly angry, _what was he trying to pull? _

"What the he-?" the brunette began.

"You were blacked out outside of my apartment," Draco informed her, the worry in his voice being replaced with curiosity, "I think the better question is how did you end up _there_?"

"Well, I don't see how that is any of your business, Malfoy," Hermione snapped, remembering what Draco had said the last time they had talked.

"You are laying in my bed with some pretty nasty bruises, therefore it IS my business. Especially considering it wasn't wild sex that caused this situation," he smirked.

"Ha, you wish," she scoffed, "can I go now?"

"Not until you tell me what happened,"

"No!" she said, searching the bed for her wand, "now where is my damn wand?"

"Oh, I hid it. You get it back when you tell what happened."

"Why do you even care?" Hermione snarled.

"I'm a curious person, Granger. You of all people should know that,"

She closed her eyes, willing him to go away, to leave her alone, but when she opened them, he was still there, waiting for an answer. "I was drunk…must've fallen or something," she lied.

Draco started laughing, _Laughing! How DARE he? _"Come one now, Granger, we both know I'm not that stupid,"

"What's so unbelievable about that?" Hermione snapped, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"Your Hermione Granger! The golden girl!" he laughed.

"So?" Hermione could feel her face flushing with anger.

"So? There's no way you would do something that reckless. Well.. that reckless without having a noble cause," the blonde snickered.

"Everyone's allowed to make a stupid decision every once in a while," she argued, "you certainly seem to have made a fair share of them,"

"Yes," Draco said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "but I'm the Prince of Slytherin, I'm allowed to!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm leaving. Give me my wand,"

"Fine, fine. I'll get the truth out of you someday," he smirked, pulling her wand out of the back pocket of his jeans.

"Thank you," she said while walking out the door and into the hallway that connected the apartments.

"Anytime," he responded, closing the door. Suddenly, Hermione thought of something.

"Wait! Why did you help me?" but it was too late, Draco was gone.

**Third chapter: DONE! :D I really hope you guys liked it!**

**REVIEW! ****:D Pwetty pwease with a cherry on top? :)**


	4. In which there is an exchange

**Oh my goodness, it has been SO LONG since I last wrote! You know what that means, excuse time! :D Okay, so I've had so much schoolwork and extracurricular lately, and I sort of just forgot to write… I'm sorry! I'll try to update much, MUCH quicker next time. And I'd like to give a special thanks to ****NaivelleStarsky ****for helping me get back in my writing groove :D**

**Unfortunately, I STILL don't own Harry Potter**

Draco sat in a big, brown lazy boy chair placed in the corner of his living room. It contrasted so much with everything else in the room with its rounded, organic curves against the hard lines of the apartment. Draco liked to think of it as a metaphor for himself, mostly hard and cold, but somewhere deep down, he was just as warm and squishy as a lazy boy.

It was moments like these where his lazy boy side came out. He just couldn't get Hermione off of is mind! _What is with all of her bruises? _the blonde wondered, _There's no way _Hermione Granger_ got drunk, I doubt she's ever _touched _a drop of alcohol! What's going on with her and that twat, Ron? And more importantly, why do I care? _But for whatever reason, Draco did care, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

At that moment, the blond man heard the door to the apartment next to his slam shut. He rushed to window and peeked through the blinds to see a flash of ginger hair walking down the stairs towards the parking lot. _It's 10AM on a Sunday, where in the world is he going? _Draco grabbed his keys, locked the door behind him, and ran down the staircase, skipping steps as he went. The apartment building's parking lot could _hardly_ be called a parking lot, it about the size of a mini-mart, making it hard to hide from Ron, but if there was one thing Draco learned from being a Deatheater, it was how to not get caught.

The blonde reluctantly got into his used, red Saab. He cringed whenever he saw it, but, thanks to his…situation… he was forced to drive it. It was bad enough even driving a muggle car, but was it really too much to ask to at least drive in style? Draco stuck the keys into the ignition and drove, tailing Ron until they arrived at a sketchy muggle bar. He saw Ron hop out of his Toyota, pull down the hood of his gray sweatshirt, and briskly walk to the alley behind the bar.

As soon as the ginger was out of sight, Draco hurriedly ran towards the alleyway and hid behind a high brick wall. He peered around the barrier to see a skinny man dressed in all black hand a small plastic baggie to Ron. Draco's eyes widened, he knew exactly what was in that baggie, _Bloody Hell. _

**Hello, my loves! I hope you liked it! If you did, review! If you didn't, still review! REVIEW! :D**


	5. In which there is a confrontation

**Hello, Darlings! Here's the new chapter! I hope you guys like it. I'm on vacation right now, so I've so much time to just write! **

Ron took a long, deep drag from the cigarette he held in his fingers. "Awww," he breathed out, it was the only way he could relax nowadays. Actually, that's not true, there was always drinking, drugs, and… some other methods...

Unfortunately, this method of relaxation didn't seem to be working at the moment, because he couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was watching him. The man who supplied him with one of his other means of relaxation was long gone, so Ron should have been all alone, smoking in the alleyway, looking like the badass he wishes he was.

Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. Unbeknownst to the pale badass, he was being watched by a pair of glaring, silver eyes, simmering in the darkness of the alley. These eyes had seen everything; the exchanges of words, laughs, and powders, and were disgusted to say the least.

At this particular moment, the eyes saw the tall ginger fumbling for something that appeared to be lost. _You won't be finding_ that_ anytime soon,_ the mind that belonged to the eyes thought, while the mouth smirked. Ron's face morphed into an expression of shocked nervousness as he began to frantically search the area around him. The silver eyes decided that they were done waiting and stepped out of the darkness.

"Hello, Ron," The red heads already shocked face turned into dread, but melted into anger as soon as he saw who the voice belonged to.

"Draco? What the hell do you want?"

"Oh nothing, nothing," the blonde said innocently, "but I may have something _you _want," Draco dug into the back pocket of his muggle jeans and pulled out a small, plastic baggie filled with a white powder.

"wha-ho-it's not what it looks like!" Ron stuttered.

Draco smirked, "I think it's exactly what it looks like,"

"How did you get it?"

"Oh come on now, Ron," the blonde sighed, "I know you weren't exactly a good, or even decent, student, but you must remember speechless spells! I accioed it,"

"Give it back!" Ron snarled, his eyes flashing.

"I don't believe that you're the one in charge here, Weasley,"

"Fine," Ron muttered, sensing his defeat, "what do you want?"

"The truth," Draco stated simply, "what's going on with you and Granger?"

"Well, we're kinda' dating so…"

"No, that's not what I meant, you idiot! Why is she always bruised?"

"I suppose she trips a lot," Ron laughed, "why do you even care?"

"I'm nosy," the blonde smirked, "and skeptical, I don't believe that's how she got those bruises,"

"You don't have to," Ron stated, "but it's the truth," The ginger began to walk away, but Draco was too quick for him. The blonde slammed against the redhead, pinning his shoulders to the brick wall behind him. "What the _hell?"_ Ron exclaimed, struggling to get out of Draco's hold.

"Give me the _truth_, damn it!" Draco snarled, tightening the grasp he had on Ron.

"I already freaking did!" Ron hissed, "Now get the hell off me!"

"Just tell me one thing first," Draco said, his eyes narrowing, "did you have anything to do with those bruises?"

"Maybe I did and maybe I didn't," Ron smirked, "but either way, it was for the best,"

Draco drew back, and punched the satisfaction right off of his stupid, freckled face.

**And there you have it, chapter 5! The ending is kind of ehh, but I really hope you guys enjoyed it! **

**Like? REVIEW! Dislike? REVIEW! Opinions? REVIEW! Suggestions? REVIEW!**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! It helps me keep writing!**


	6. In which there is a heart to heart

_**Hello, Darlings! So… I really don't like this chapter, but I wanted to update it sooo…Judge as harshly as you'd like, just DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**_

_Hermione drummed her fingers on the oak dining room table that she sat at, her brown eyes flickering between the clock that hung on the wall and the door that lead to the front porch. Ron was out all night. Not that it wasn't a regular occurrence, but Hermione just couldn't stop herself from worrying. The ticking of the clock echoed through the room, getting into Hermione's head, driving her crazy. Tick. Tick. Tick._ Why wouldn't it just stop? As a matter of fact, that's a question that seemed to be on her mind a lot lately; why? Why did Draco move in next door? Why does he care about my bruises? Why doesn't Ron?

Hermione didn't think about that last question very often. She liked to think that she could hide it from herself, that she could take a broom and sweep it under a carpet in the corner of her mind. Maybe if she didn't recognize the truth then it would go away. But alas, that wasn't the case. The longer she hid herself from reality, the more insane she became. She could feel herself becoming madder as time went on… one could only take so much abuse.

At that moment, there was a harsh rapping at the door. Hermione's face lit up and she sprinted to the door, excited to see her pale-faced boyfriend standing on the other side. She swung open the door to see Ron not standing, but _slouching _against an annoyed-looking, beautiful blonde. "I believe this belongs to you," he sneered, handing the man to Hermione and turning around, preparing to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hermione nearly shrieked.

"My apartment. Its nearly 2AM and I need my beauty sleep, if you don't mind,"

"Get back here! You can't just drop off my passed out boyfriend with no explanation!"

Draco stared at her intently, his eyes flickering with something that Hermione couldn't quite put her finger on. He took a step forward, causing the space between them to be nearly nonexistent. His eyes were smoldering, making her nervous yet unafraid. "How about a question for a question, Granger?"

"I.. I, okay. Yah sure," She stuttered, still shocked from how close they were standing. "Would you like to, um, take a seat on the couch?"

"No," the blonde stated in that matter-of-fact way of his, "I'm perfectly fine where I am,"

"O-okay. So uh, why is m-"

"No, **I** get to ask the first question," Hermione nodded briskly as the man continued, "why aren't you _surprised _that your boyfriend was brought home in the middle of the night, passed out?"

Hermione glanced down at the red-haired man that was now slouched against the wall, "Well, I- I don't see how that is any of your business!" she replied, regaining her confidence.

"It's not, but if you don't answer, I don't answer,"

"Fine, he, uh, gets drunk. Occasionally. But it's fine, nothing I can't handle," Hermione stated with a weak smile. Draco raised his eyebrows, obviously skeptical, and began to ask another question. "Nope, Malfoy. I believe that it's my turn to ask a question. Why did _you _of all people carry Ron home,"

"Because I'm the reason he's passed out, I punched him," Draco said, as if he were stating the obvious.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Hermione asked, her face livid with anger.

"Aww Granger, well that brings me to my next question. What the _fuck _has he been doing do you?"

Hermione was shocked, and immediately drew away from the enraged blonde. She had never seen Malfoy like this. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Please don't play dumb with me. I.. I need to know that your safe," Draco said, looking at his feet.

Hermione's eyes widened, "I-what?"

"Just tell me, has he been hurting you?"

And with those 8 simple words, Hermione lost it. She forgot about everything; about Ron, about Draco, about all of her problems. She simply forgot. Hermione fell to her knees and cried, comforted only by the strong, lean arms belonging to none other than Draco Malfoy that now surrounded her.

**OOOOHHH! Feelings are developing! Any suggestions? REVIEW! Comments? REVIEW! Opinions? REVIEW! Anything to say at all? REVIEW!**

**And Ode to Reviews: I love reviews so I wrote them a poem. But then I got bored so I stopped. REVIEW!**


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